Intel (INTC), the world's largest microprocessor manufacturer is charging ahead. U.S. slowdown? Global recession? President and CEO Paul Otellini telling me in a Fox Business Exclusive today that he prefers to look ahead to innovation. Last June, Intel unveiled the Atom, a low-power, low-costproduct meant to go in smaller electronics like NetBooks. He told me this morningthat sales are exceeding expectations. You don't often hear that from CEO's in any sector these days.

Otellini also told us one of the most important things Intel is working toward now is cracking the Speech recognition nut. For decades, techies and regular folk alike dreamed of the day you don't have to press buttons on a keyboard and that speech would unlock all kinds of technological doors. He said today that Intel is about "2 years away" from a good quality version of speech recognition capability. Needless to say, you get the sense he wants Intel to be FIRST to say, "Eureka!"

OFF CAMERA IN THE GREENROOM: after the interview (which you can see in full by clicking on the clip below) we chatted in the greenroom at Fox Business' studios. He's really psyched about the relationship they've just struck with Dreamworks Animation (DWA).Intel now hasa strategic alliance with Dreamworks Animation that both companies say will, using Intel products, revolutionize 3-D filmmaking technology. Intel products are now in more than a thousand Dreamworks Animation workspaces, helping 3-D animators speed up the process of3-D filmmaking. Watch out for the offspring of this new relationship in the form of the upcoming movie "Monsters Vs. Aliens"